Fish-offal digester.



No. 65l,585. Patented June l2, I900. T. WATTS.

FISH OFFAL DIGESTER.

(Application filed July 18, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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NITED STATES ATTN Fries.

THOMAS YVATTS, OF VANCOUVER, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS HERBERT WYMONDE, LATE OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

FlSH-OFFAL olcssTsa.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 651,585, dated June 12, 1900.

Application filed July 18,1898. :Serial No. 686,287. (No model.)

T ll whom i m y ncern: openings 19 are sealed by detachable doors or Be it known that I, THOMAS WVATTS, a citiby any other means that is found convenient. zen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each di- Vancouver, in the Province of British Oolumgester is provided at some distance from its 5 bia, Canada, have invented a new and useconoidal bottom with a sloping foraminous ful Improvement in Fish-Offal Digesters, of bottom 2]., and this is borne by an annular which the following is a specification. support 22, secured to the inner periphery of This invention has for its purpose to prothe digester, and by cross-bars 23, supported vide a cheap, simple, and easily-manipulated by the same. I I0 means for extracting the oil and gelatin from At the lower sides of the sloping bottom 21 6o fishoffal while in the digesters preparatory is an opening 2L in the shell of the digester. to being converted into guano or plant-food; This opening 24 is provided with means for and it consists in certain details of construcmaking it steam-tight for a purpose to aption and combination of parts hereinafter depear later. I5 scribed, and pointed out in the claims. At the top of each digester are arranged a I attain the above object by the mechanism steam-pipe 25, a pressure-gage pipe 26, and a illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in safety-valve vent 27. The two latter provide which against too great a strain being exercised Figure l is avertical section of myimprovewithin the digesters. 2o ment, showing the same applied to a conveyer At the lower depending ends of the digest 7o mechanism hereinafter described. Fig. 2 is ers are arranged inlet-pipes 28. These pipes an enlarged transverse sectional plan of the pass through the shells of the depending codigester, taken on line b b in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 noidal ends of the digesters beneath the peris a detail view of one of the movable baffles. for-ated bottoms 21 therein, and their inner 2 5 Similar numerals refer to similar parts ends curve upward and are provided with throughout the several views, in whichbaffles 29, which are designed to slip up and 10indicatesaconVeyer-chute arranged over down on upwardly-projecting pins over the inclined hopper tanks or chutes 11. The offal mouths of the pipes 28. These baffles 29 prois conveyed along the chute 10 by an endless vide for the steam being evenly distributed 30 device which is common to conveyors of this under the bottoms of the perforated grids 21, class, and in the chute 10 over each tank is a and when the pressure is brought to bear from drop-door 12. These doors 12 are arranged above, as will be understood presently, the over the centers of each tank and are provided baffles will lie over the mouths of the pipes with means of opening or closing them at and prevent any matters passing therein. 35 pleasure. The bottoms of the tanks areslop- At the lower point of the depending ends ing forward, as 13, and their forward sides are of the digesters are pipes 30. These pipes are contracted into chutes 14:. Each chute 14 is for the purpose of drawing off oil and moisprovided withatrap-door 14, designed to rise tures from the offal that is being treated, and fall vertically by means of a rack 15, opwhich moisture will be in the form of oil, gel- 40 erated by a pinion 16, which is fixed to a wheelatin, and water. o shaft 17. The digesters are suitably supported in a The tanks 11 are so elevated that the matframe A and the hopper-tanks are arranged ters deposited therein through the drop-doors at a suitable distance above the same, so that 12 will pass to the chutes 14 by gravity. Pivthe offal in such tanks will pass to the di- 5 otally secured to the projecting lips of the gesters by gravity through the trap-door 14 chutes 14 are movable ducts 18. These ducts when such door is opened, as described above. when depressed communicate with openings In the operation of my invention the offal 19 in the upper ends ofvertically-placed is brought along the chute 10 by conveyors digesters 20, and when the chutes are eleand is dropped through the drop-door 12 into 50 vated, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the the tanks 11. When itis desirous to use but I00 the digesters until they are as full as desired,

when the trap-doors are closed and the openings 19 in the digesters are also closed tight, so that there can be little or'no escape of steam. Steam is then turned on by the pipes 25 and 28 until the entire mass has been permeated and cooked, which usually occupies forty-five to sixty minutes, according to the steam-pressure. When the cooking process has been completed, the pressure is shut off from the port 28 and extra pressure is increased through the port 25. all moisture downward through the mass and through the bottom 21, from where it is driven oflf through the pipe 80 into condensing-t anks to cool, when the oilwill be released from the gelatin and water and may be drawn oil? into tanks arranged for its reception. After this the water is evaporated from the gelatin by heat, and the oil and the gelatin may then be refined and placed in con venient marketable form. After allmoisture has been ejected from the mass in the digesters, as before mentioned, the doors 24 are opened and the residue is then taken from the digesters, when two steam-pipesconneeted with said digester and passing into the same, and the outlets thereof being located respectively above and below said foraminous plate; and a steampressure-operated devicelocated to close one of said steam-pipes, substantially as specified. 2. In an apparatusof the class specified, the combination with a closed vessel having conoidal ends, and having an opening in the upper end of the same; of a forami'nou's plate supported at an inclination above the lower end; a closable door on said vessel, disposed above said plate; pipes for supplying steam above and below said foraminous plate; and a baffle carried by one of the pipes, and closable by steam-pressure from the other pipe,

substantially as specified. This will drive 1 I 5 the combination with a vessel having an in- 3. In an apparatus of the class specified,

terior foraminous plate, and also having a discharge-pipe located at the lower end of the vessel; of a discharge-controlling door covering an opening in the tank above the delivery end of said foraminous plate; two steam-pipes leading into the vessel, and their outlets being located respectively above and below said plate; and a battle carried by-the one steam-pipe and operated by steam-pressure from the other pipe, substantially as specified.

4. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination of a cylindrical digester having conoidal ends and provided between the same with a discharge-opening, a perforated bottom, a safety-vent 27 at the upper apex of the digester, and a dischargepipe at the lower apex of the same, substantially as described.

ETIIOMAS \VA'lTS.

\Vi tnesses:

T. H. WyMoNnn, GEORGE ELLIOTT. 

